Month: June 2018

Next week is Independence Day, July 4, in the U.S. Undoubtedly, there will be lots of historical reflection and other reminders about the importance of this day in U.S. history.

I’d like you to consider a variation on this theme, which is how independent you feel about yourself. Do you feel in charge of yourself, for example, your professional direction, your ability to speak up as a leader, or how you influence others?

Today marks the beginning of summer (and if you didn’t know this, you need to take a day off). By the time you read this, the actual summer solstice will have passed (6:07 am EDT), and we’ll be well into the longest day of daylight (in the northern hemisphere) this year.

This is the time of the year when I “gently remind” leaders to make sure that they embrace and enjoy the season, and don’t let it zoom by without taking time to enjoy it. For years, clients have resolved to lighten their schedule to enjoy the summer only to reach September and wonder what happened to those plans.

How well do you really know your staff? Of course, you know the work they do and perhaps some of their interests. But how deep does your knowledge or insight really go?

One of my clients recently discovered that one of her employees is a regular marathon runner. He had competed in races for years and the only reason it came up was because another employee mentioned something about him raising money for a charity race.

Another client learned that one of her staff members was an enthusiastic traveler who successfully spreads out 2 weeks of vacation over long weekends and company holidays so that she takes 3-4 trips abroad each year. She had no clue.

One of the perennial problems in the workplace is the ongoing gap in communication. It is the root of many problems and unfortunately, perpetuated by too many leaders.

Communication takes work. It takes energy to make sure that your message, whether oral or written, has the language, tone, and substance that will be clear and understandable to the person receiving the message. And in our time compressed world, people don’t take the time to pause to ensure that clarity.

“One of the greatest gifts you can give anyone is the gift of attention.”

– Jim Rohn

Relationships are so important, and yet in many cases, they are casualties of our time compressed world. Attention is one of our key currencies today, rendering Jim Rohn’s quote above more relevant than ever.

But increasingly, people have less time for relationships. Over time this is damaging and hard to reverse when the damage is done. The Catch-22 is that we unknowingly neglect our closest relationships because we feel that those who know us the best will understand what we’re going through.